


What's in a Family?

by angeldevastation



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-07-27 14:44:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7622743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angeldevastation/pseuds/angeldevastation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The head family of the Uchiha Clan had a heavily guarded secret, at least guarded from anyone who wasn't an Uchiha. But when that secret is exposed and children go missing, a temporary truce is called between the Senju and Uchiha clans as they search to find their missing children. Will the peace treaty last once everyone's safe? Will the children be found? TobiramaxOC</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Uchiha Naomi worked her ass off to get where she was today. She suffered through the loss of three of her brothers Yuu, Hiraku, and Souta at an early age. She defied both of her parents to become a kunoichi and fight alongside her family in the frontlines. She was the princess of the Uchiha clan and as such she was expected to be the perfect house wife. After the loss of Yuu, her older brother by three years, she could not bear the idea of not protecting her family as they have done for her. She fought with her parents for the chance to become a ninja. Her mother was worried about her safety, being the only daughter of the clan head. Her father was worried she would not be able to keep up with the rest of the clan. Both had told her no every time she asked. What they did not know was that she observed them when they trained and would practice at night.  
It was Izuna who stumbled across her first. He tried to stop her but her resilience was unmatched. So instead he trained with her. He taught her the katas properly, showed her how to manipulate her chakra and how to mask it. It was with Hiraku’s death that gave her the Sharingan. He had been her best friend, her closest brother, the one who had always comforted her when she was upset. Izuna taught her how to use the Sharingan, feeling proud of how quickly she learned.

  
Madara was the next to find out about her secret training. He was angry at first. Angry at Naomi for disobeying their parents. Angry at Izuna for helping her; but once he saw how much she had improved in the three years she had been training, he knew that she would be a perfect secret weapon for the clan. So he joined in on their late night training sessions. Between the two of them, Izuna and Madara were able to teach her all of the things she would have learned if she had started at the same age they had. She worked hard to catch up with them, but when she did she could not be more proud of herself. Madara and Izuna held off on telling their father about Naomi’s improvement. Instead they focused on continuing to train her, broadening her abilities in any and every way they could, all behind their parents’ backs.

  
Surprisingly Naomi excelled at medical ninjutsu, which she had taught herself through scrolls from the Uchiha library. Izuna and Madara allowed her to practice simple ones on them, which she was completely thankful for. She loved her brothers and she hated them being hurt in any way, especially when she was the one who was hurting them; but neither of them ever complained and never hesitated in letting her practice on them. Uchiha Naomi may have been the princess of the Uchiha clan, the only daughter of Uchiha Tajima and Nasuko, but she was not a helpless girl. she had been the best kept secret of the Uchiha clan.

  
Uchiha Madara had been bred to take over as clan head when his father would die. It was an inevitable fact of life for people to die, especially in times of war. He had spent most of his life working to become the greatest shinobi alive in order to protect his family. He vowed that he would do anything to protect his remaining siblings. Even if that meant that he would go behind his parents’ backs to train his sister. As he sat before his father and the council, he could not be happier that he had done it. Maybe then she would have a fighting chance against the bastards that took her. He could not bear to lose another sibling, let alone his only sister. Naomi had a hard time adjusting after losing Hiraku and Izuna and Madara stepped up to do their best to help her.

  
In the two years since Hiraku died Naomi improved greatly in her training. She had trained harder and longer, determined to do everything and anything to protect her family. Madara just hoped it paid off and helped her live through this nightmare. Izuna sat to his right and his mother off to the side as they listened to Tajima explain about what they discovered this morning. Uchiha Naomi, the youngest sibling of Madara and Izuna and the only daughter of Uchiha Tajima and Nasuko, was missing.

  
“How did it happen, father?” Izuna asked cautiously. Madara kept his eyes on his father though he also wondered how someone had gotten through their defenses and kidnapped their sister. She was not that far from the main house, which in itself was embedded deep in the Uchiha compound.

  
“I am not sure. I sent scouts out to follow the trail but it disappeared.” Tajima replied sighing deeply and closing his eyes. He was upset about his only daughter being gone, and it was taking every bit of his training to not let his emotions bubble to the surface.  
“What is the plan then?” Madara asked staring at his father. The older man did not acknowledge his son, but his worry was written all over his face. It was a foreign sight to Madara and Izuna; Tajima rarely showed when he was worried; but then, it was not every day his only daughter disappeared.

  
“One of the scouts stated that he caught Senju in the area. The two of you and Tajima-sama shall make contact with the Senju clan.” One of the elders, Katsuro, stated from behind Tajima. Izuna and Madara nodded, neither arguing nor stating any other alternative. It was really their best option at this point. The trail was cold and the Senju clan were the only ones who could help them.

  
“When do we leave?” Madara asked after a moment of silence. Nasuko watched the interaction quietly, knowing better than to state her disagreement. She did not want to lose her only two sons as well; but she wanted to get her baby girl back. She would push her hatred of the Senju clan aside if it meant she was able to hole her precious daughter again.

  
“As soon as the two of you are ready” Tajima stated, waving his hand and dismissing his two sons. Both stood up and left the room to get ready for their mission. Neither wasted any time to get ready, both worried about their baby sister. They prepared in silence and once they were done they went off to meet up with their father. Nasuko saw her two sons off, wishing them good luck before sending them off to the Senju compound. Madara an Izuna met their father at the gate of the Uchiha compound and without a word set off towards the Senju camp.

  
It took them half the day to get to the gates of the Senju camp. None of them spoke as they ran; all three were struggling to keep their emotions in check as they thought of what Naomi could be going through. When they arrived at the enemy camp, Senju Butsuma stood there with a small army behind him. Madara recognized a few of them from the battlefield. No doubt they had the three Uchiha coming. Next to the clan leader stood his oldest son, Hashirama. Madara wondered where Tobirama was; he rarely strayed far from his brother’s side. Tajima stopped about a foot away from the Senju clan leader, with Madara and Izuna behind him. They stared at each other for a short while, each side waiting for an attack. When one did not come from either side, the two leaders relaxed slightly; they were still enemies after all.

  
“My youngest son is missing; do you know anything about that?” Butsuma asked accusingly as he glared at the three Uchiha men. His scouts had said there had been Uchiha in the area of where the trail had taken them. Granted the scouts were near the Uchiha borders, the fact that three members of the head family dared to come to their gates indicated that something was wrong. Were they there to gloat? Or to suggest a treaty?

  
“I do not know anything about your son, but my daughter is missing as well. Our scouts caught members of your clan near our lands when they followed the trail” Tajima replied. He had never trusted the Senju clan, and he would not put it past them to lie about taking his daughter. Hashirama stared at Madara as he took in the fact that his friend had never told him about a sister, and as it sank in that Madara’s unknown sister and Hashirama’s own brother were missing, his eyes widened. The two clans were in the same boat, both clan leaders were missing a child. Did this mean that someone else was targeting the Senju and Uchiha? He knew that Tajima was not lying; utter sadness and worry were shining in his eyes. Butsuma, also realizing what had happened, stood up straighter and let his guard down, not enough that would open him for an attack but enough to show he understood what the Uchiha was going through. Assuming it was not a trick; the Uchiha clan were here to request their daughter back. They could not do that since they did not have her; Butsuma did not even know that Tajima had a daughter. Tajima followed suit, ordering Izuna and Madara to stand down. He doubted it was a trick, the Senju heir was more emotional than his father and he did not seem like the type to act that well.

  
“I sent a team out to follow the trial left behind. It may have been a third party that took our children” Butsuma stated. It was quiet for a moment as Butsuma chose his next words carefully. While he knew he could never forgive the Uchiha for what they had done to his clan, neither side could afford to be in a war with each other while looking for their missing members. “I propose a temporary truce until we figure out who pulled this off and recover our children.”

  
“I will have to accept. Izuna return to the compound and tell the council of my decision. I shall remain here with Madara to talk this out” Tajima stated after a moment of silence. He could not allow his clan to fight a war while searching for his daughter. Izuna nodded and ran off to follow his father’s orders; he may not be a fan of the Senju but it was a relief to not have to fight them constantly when his mind would be preoccupied with his sister. Butsuma sent a female Senju to tell the council of Elders his decision and offered to find a neutral place for the two clan leaders to speak. Tajima agreed, waiting for Butsuma to dismiss his army. Everyone except for Hashirama left and with that the four ninja left. Hashirama suggested the river that he and Madara used to skip rocks at and neither clan leader disagreed. It was a neutral spot for both sides.

  
“This should be fine” Tajima stated as they settled on the bank of the river. Hashirama and Butsuma were on one side facing Madara and Tajima. “Do you know when your son disappeared?”

  
“Tobirama was on patrol last night. The clansman, Isamu, who was with him claimed that Tobirama never indicated that there was someone around them until they were ambushed. Whoever did it were skilled enough to hide from Tobirama and take both down quickly and quietly, no one around them heard a thing. It was early this morning when Isamu was found.” Hashirama explained after his father motioned for him to speak. Madara could see the worry in Hashirama’s chocolate eyes, it matched the worry he felt for his beloved sister.

  
“I must say Tajima, I was not aware you had a daughter. Do you have any idea when she went missing?” Butsuma added directing his attention to his rival and temporary ally. Not once did any Uchiha mention or even indicate that Tajima had a daughter. He must have done everything he could to keep her a secret. Was he afraid that the Senju would try to kill her?

  
“Naomi is not a kunoichi and I try to keep her as far away from the battlefield as I can. The last time I saw her was before she went to bed the last night, shortly after the sun set.” Tajima replied confidently. It was a false confidence though, he was terrified that his daughter was already dead. He regretted not letting his daughter learn to at least defend herself. She had begged him to let her train, and he kept refusing. He just wanted to keep her safe; and it had backfired on him.

  
“She was out training” Madara corrected quietly. He did not even look at his father, instead he chose to look up at the sky. He was aware all attention was on him though. He was going to get in trouble for not telling his father sooner but he was trying to help his sister.

  
“What?” Tajima demanded, his eyes narrowing. Madara usually did not disobey his orders like this. If he knew his sister was training he should have told Tajima; but Tajima could not have been happier to hear it. Maybe his princess would have a fighting chance. Maybe she was still alive.

  
“She started training by herself at night after Yuu’s death. Izuna found out about it first and decided to train her properly. I agreed when I found out. She was out late training.” Madara said tightening his fist around his knee. “I left before she did, shortly after midnight I would have to guess, but she was not supposed to be out that much longer.”  
“We will have a discussion about this later.” Tajima commented angrily; he had his appearances to keep up after all. He turned his attention back to the Senju leader. Butsuma had a hard look on his face, similar to that of Tajima’s. “It seems our children were taken close to each other. Madara where was Naomi training?”

  
“In the forest, maybe a kilometer away from the main house. She was well within our borders.” Madara replied finally daring to look at his father. He could see the anger etched into his father’s face and even though the Sharingan was not activated his eyes burned with a mixture of emotion, but the one that surprised Madara the most was not the anger or hatred. Rather it was the worry and sadness that were overshadowed by his anger; and the small sliver of hope.

  
“We should assume that we are dealing with a rival clan, one that has a vendetta against both of our clans. But I do not know of any clan able to pull this off.” Butsuma stated his eyes unfocused as he thought. “Times like this I would suggest sending Tobirama out but since that is not an option I feel the best thing to do would be to send out our best trackers to try to find any sign of them.”

  
“I agree. Madara and I will return and I will send a messenger when I have gathered a team. We will have them meet here and they can follow the trail.” Tajima stated standing up. Madara followed suit as Butsuma agreed. The two Senju stood as well and, after the two clan leaders shaking hands, took their leave. Madara followed his father back to the compound silently. He knew that when they returned home his father was going to criticize him for what he and his brother had done. That criticism never came. Instead, when Tajima told his wife what their remaining sons had done, Nasuko pulled both of her sons into a tight hug. She was thankful that they had hopefully prepared Naomi for what she was about to endure.


	2. Chapter 2

Senju Tobirama woke up quietly. He looked around trying to figure out where he was. It was dark so he thought it was still night time; it was either that or he was underground. There was another person in the room with him, judging by the size he assumed either a young male or a teenage girl. Whoever they were, they were not moving. He thought back to earlier that morning when he had been ambushed. He had been on patrol, and he had sensed them coming but not soon enough. He had never come across someone, let alone a group of people, who could hide their chakra from him so well. He wondered what his father and brother would say when he returned home to them. Would they be disappointed in him for getting caught so easily or would they just be glad he was home. The thought almost made him laugh; his father had never shown that kind of love to either of his sons. He only cared about their ability to fight and Hashirama’s ability to lead the clan one day.

 

Tobirama immediately became aware of the fact that he was missing all of the weapons he had been carrying with him when he had been attacked. His face plate was also missing, though the rest of his armor remained. And it seemed they had found all of his weapons and removed them from him. They did not want him to have any chance of escaping, but the question remained of why they had not removed his armor. By them taking his face plate, he knew they knew his clan. Did they take it to keep the other person he was with from knowing his clan?

 

A small cough from the other side of the room drew Tobirama out of his thoughts. He saw the person sit up and give another cough. He did not think they knew he was there yet and he did not exactly want to draw attention to himself yet. He saw them shiver but otherwise they made no noise or movements. They looked around the room before their gaze turned to Tobirama himself.  By the posture and form, he assumed the person was a female.

 

 

Uchiha Naomi woke up with a dry throat and one hell of a headache. The last thing she remembered was Madara telling her to stop her training for the night and try to sleep. All night she had an uneasy feeling, and Madara could see it on her face. She had told him that she wanted to practice the kata once more and then she would go to sleep. He left her alone at that point and she practiced her kata in peace. As she was walking back to the compound her bad feeling got worse. And her gut had been right; she was ambushed by a group of men that she did not recognize. She tried to scream for help and they covered her mouth. She tried to fight them off, but only managed to injure a couple. They were able to knock her unconscious and drag her off. Her only hope was that her father and brothers would be able to track her. She lifted her head, ignoring the bitter cold that nibbled at her skin and the pounding in her head, taking her time to look around the room. If she had to guess she was in an underground cell. It had been early morning when she had been attacked so unless she had been unconscious for an entire day, which she would not be surprised about with how much she had been training and how little sleep she was getting, there was no way that it could be this dark still.

 

She cursed herself for not training in warmer clothes, and for not following Madara inside when he left for bed. She just had to wear her shortest and thinnest yukata while she was training, and subsequently when she got attacked. In a moment of complete panic she wondered if she still had her necklace; she did not feel it hanging from her neck and as she reached up to feel it, she realized it was not there. The necklace was a gift from Hiraku before he died and it was one of her most cherished possessions. Her only hope was that it was in an easy to find place, somewhere that her brothers may find it.

 

As she looked around the room, though, she realized she was not alone. And when she looked at the other person in the room, she became aware of her dry throat and the heaving of her chest as she coughed roughly. She knew she was cold but had not noticed her body shaking. She had trained too hard before she got attacked, and now her body was severely dehydrated.  If she was lucky she would be fine as soon as she got some water in her system but she could feel herself getting sick.

 

Tobirama closed his eyes and turned his head away from Naomi, trying to ignore the coughing. He was aware of how cold it was in the room, and was thankful for the armor he still had on. He was not sure why their captors kept it on him, but he was thankful nonetheless. He could see the girl shivering and his instincts told him to help. His mother, what he remembered of her at least, had always tried to instill chivalry into Tobirama and his brothers before she died. At the same time, he did not know the girl and he could not exactly convince himself that she was not a threat. Before he could react the door opened, allowing light to enter the room. It allowed for Tobirama to see the girl clearly. Her black hair and deep obsidian eyes captivated him, until he realized who she was exactly, but he did not have time to act on it with her. A couple of men stepped into the room, blocking the dim light that had flooded the room. Naomi had trouble keeping her coughs at bay and as one of the men moved to hit her Tobirama, acting on instinct, ran to intercept it. He blocked the hit and glared up at the man. The other man, an older guy with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes, just smirked at him.

 

“I see that you are both awake. Good, I will have someone bring you both something to eat.” His voice was gruff and cold, he did not even care that his subordinate almost hit their prisoner. “You two just get to know each other. You will be here for quite some time.”

 

“What do you want with us?” A soft and weak sounding voice asked. Tobirama looked down to see Naomi looking up at the man with an unreadable expression. Tobirama was slightly surprised by how stoic her face remained, but he could almost see her fear. The older man laughed, causing Tobirama to look back at him.

 

“You will see. Takashi let’s go” he replied before turning and leaving. Takashi, a man not much older than Tobirama, had blond hair pulled into a ponytail and gray eyes that held nothing but anger. He glare at Tobirama and moved to spit on Naomi, before his boss called for him again. He left the room in a huff, slamming the door shut behind him. It was quiet for a moment before Tobirama turned to stare at the young girl.

 

“You are an Uchiha” the white haired teen stated disgusted. The black haired girl looked up at him blankly.

 

“Judging by your tone of voice you are a Senju” she said moving to sit up, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them. Tobirama sighed and sat across the room from her. He knew that even if she was an Uchiha, she probably did not have much ninja training, if any. He had never seen her on the battlefield, not that he was looking at the Uchiha kunoichi. That meant it was up to him to get them out of there.

 

“We need to figure out a way to get out of here” Tobirama said looking around the now dark room. It was large enough for the two of them to be comfortable, but not big enough to let them have any resemblance of privacy. The small flicker of light he had earlier had showed why the Uchiha girl was so cold. She wore a simple training yukata leaving her legs and arms completely bare, and it seemed her hair was wet. From what he did not know but he hoped it would dry quickly.

 

“We should try to figure out any routines. Right now we have a large chance of getting caught” Naomi replied calmly. She needed to remember her training, to keep calm in the face of danger and to keep a level head, to make her brothers proud. If that meant ignoring how cold and tired she was then so be it. She only hoped the Senju would not be completely opposed to working with her. She was getting sick and she knew it. She could not get out by herself. Taking a deep breath she brought her eyes up to meet his disinterested gaze. “My name is Naomi, what is yours?”

 

Tobirama contemplated not answering her. She was an Uchiha, and though he did not think she was a ninja she could still be a threat. The Uchiha and Senju clans did not get along at all. There was nothing to keep her from betraying him as soon as given the opportunity, but she was being friendly. Was it because she needed him? Or because she was like that anyway? Tobirama almost laughed. Uchiha were not friendly. Especially not to the Senju clan. Tobirama could not and would not put his clan or his life in danger by trusting any Uchiha. Even if she had not shown any indication of hatred, distrust, or disgust when asking about his clan. And she had not said a word about her clan to him, or his clan for that matter. Regardless of her being an Uchiha he could not help but think of how pretty she was. Uchihas were known for their impeccable beauty and grace, but Tobirama had never been captivated by one like he was with her.

 

“Well if you do not want to tell me you do not have to. I just thought you would not want me calling you Senju-san. Anyways, it seems like they are restricting our chakra, they do not want us to escape.” She stated after a few minutes of silence. Her voice quivered and her teeth chattered slightly as she spoke. Tobirama was surprised by the way she held herself, how she spoke to him, and even how she was acting given the situation.

 

The door opened again and a woman walked in with two plates of food. Her dark green hair was a surprise to Naomi, having never seen such a hair color, but her gaze did not linger. The woman put the food down in front of them and immediately left the room. Tobirama wasted no time in analyzing the food. They would need their strength if they were to escape, and for that they needed to eat. For all he knew the food could be poisoned. Naomi moved closer, to see if she could decipher anything that could be harmful to either of them in the food. She could not find anything and when she looked up at the Senju it seemed he could not either. Slowly the two ate, silence encompassing them. Neither was sure what to say or do. There was nothing to do in the dark room, and Naomi was sure the Senju did not want to speak to her.

 

“Tobirama” he stated out of nowhere. Naomi looked up at him curiously. Her head tilted slightly to the left as she tried to figure out what that meant.

 

“Nani?” Tobirama sighed as he set the plate down. He looked up at the younger girl, amused by her curious face.

 

“My name is Tobirama” he replied, his eyes searching for hers in the dark. He was not sure why he was telling him but the smile that graced her face took his breath away. His brain cursed as his body seemed to disobey all logic and became aroused. He did his best to ignore and hide it. He had never been in such a situation; he could usually control his urges. There was something about Naomi that made him lose control.

 

“It is nice to meet you Tobirama-san” Naomi stated cheerfully. Even her voice turned him on. And the way she said his name…he could barely handle it. He gritted his teeth to keep from groaning. Naomi seemed to notice this and her head tiled to the other side. “Is everything alright Tobirama-san?”

 

“I am fine” Tobirama managed to say through his clenched teeth. The Uchiha had no clue what kind of effect she had on the older Senju. She simply nodded and went back to sitting against the wall. Tobirama had to turn away as he noticed the way her yukata fell around her legs. Instead he tried to focus on trying to hear anything outside of the room. He could not and with his chakra suppressed, he could not sense how many people were there. His attention was drawn back to Naomi as he noticed her shivering again. “Do you want me to keep you warm Naomi-chan?”

 

Tobirama wanted to smack himself as soon as the words left his mouth he had not meant to use such an endearment on the young Uchiha. If she noticed he did not say anything. Instead she looked at him with her adorably cute curious expression. She was quiet for a moment, and Tobirama sincerely hoped she said no. She did not; she stood up and walked over to him. He pulled her close and breathed in her scent accidently over the sweat and blood. She smelled like lavender and honey. He only hoped that she did not feel his arousal as she shifted to get more comfortable. It did not take her long to fall asleep. Tobirama was not far after her. He could barely keep his eyes open. He just needed to ignore his throbbing desire.

 

 

Izuna watched as his older brother paced around the room. He knew that Madara blamed himself, and as night fell he could not help but to let his worries grow. Izuna himself was worried, and it was getting worse as his brother paced. He tried telling himself that Naomi was with the captured Senju and that Tobirama Senju would not let his sister die, but he did not think the Senju would help any Uchiha. Regardless of how dangerous or innocent Naomi was. Izuna continued to watch his older brother pace, mumbling to himself. It was strangely quiet in the house. Naomi usually kept the family entertained with her cheery personality. It was the only time Izuna had ever seen his father smile.

 

“I cannot believe I left her there. I should have helped her finish or made her come in with me. I should have stayed with her” Madara ranted as he continued to pace. Izuna sighed; knowing there would be no calming the older Uchiha down. All Izuna could do was hope that Naomi could protect herself long enough until they could find her. No one in the main house of the Uchiha clan slept that night.

 

 

Hashirama had never felt so alone. He missed his younger brother, missed the insult and harsh looks his brother gave him, missed how his brother acted like Hashirama was not mature enough, but most importantly he missed how much his younger brother cared. Tobirama never gave himself fully to the idea of peace and a ninja village, but that never stopped him from working towards that goal. He cared about his clan and his brother, to the point that he made himself the best ninja he could be. Hashirama had sworn to protect his brothers with his life, but he had failed. Kawarama was gone, Itama was gone, and now Tobirama was gone. He may not be dead yet but there was no definitive proof that he would come back alive. Images of his dead brothers’ bodies flashed through his mind, Tobirama’s included, as Hashirama turned in his bed again. His father refused to let him go look for his brother, in case they tried to take him as well. It had been decided earlier that they went after Tobirama specifically, just as they had gone after Madara’s sister specifically. Neither side knew why they wanted those two. Naomi was too young to be married off, according to Madara at least; Hashirama had no idea how old she was since he had no idea she even existed prior to today. And while Tobirama was an exceptional ninja, his capture made no sense. The sixteen year old boy did not hold any real value to them; at least that is what his father said. The thought brought Hashirama to tears, to think his father thought so lowly of his youngest son, it made him wonder what his father thought of Hashirama himself. His brother was by far the more disciplined ninja, even if Hashirama was stronger. Hashirama had always thought his father favored Tobirama, since he had turned out so similar to the older man. Hashirama did not know what he would do if Tobirama did not return home. He loved his otouto too much to lose him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it! Also sorry for the very late update~  
> I do not own Naruto, only a few of the characters in here

Naomi woke up cuddled into someone. She knew the only person who it could be was Tobirama but that did not stop her from freaking out. She pulled away from his arms quickly causing the Senju to wake up. He looked up at her curiously as she started shivering again. Tobirama sighed as he realized she didn’t remember why they had slept the way they had. She probably thought he was trying to pull a move on her. It wasn’t like he could blame her, she was attractive and she was at the age to be courted by men for marriage. 

“Come back here” he said calmly, trying to reach for her hand. She pulled away and wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep warm. Tobirama sighed again and stood up. He walked closer to her until she had backed herself into a wall. “Look I’m not trying to pull anything. You’re cold and if you don’t get warm you can get sick. That would make it harder for us to get out of here.”

Reluctantly, Naomi allowed him to pull her into his arms and she felt instantly warmer. She couldn’t stop the blush that spread on her face, however, as she realized that she liked how he smelled. It was like sandalwood and an ocean. Naomi hoped that Tobirama didn’t notice since he didn’t react. He simply sad down again against the wall. Naomi was still terrified of their situation but Tobirama’s scent and embrace calmed her down. His heartbeat relaxed her, almost lulling her back to sleep. 

Tobirama was thankful that his body didn’t react to hers like it had the day, or night he wasn’t really sure, before. Of course, though, as her scent filled his nostrils he had to think of other things to distract his mind. He came to realize that he liked her scent, not that he was going two admit that to anyone. His grip on Naomi tightened just slightly as he leaned back against the wall. The door opened and the same woman who had brought their food prior walked in with two plates of food and two cups of water. Naomi sat up, but didn’t move away from Tobirama. Once again Tobirama examined the food to make sure it wasn’t poisoned. When he deemed that it was safe he handed a plate to Naomi, and just like the day prior the two ate in silence. 

Naomi finished her food before Tobirama and sat her plate down on the ground. She waited for Tobirama to finish before saying anything. Not that she knew what to say. She just couldn’t handle the silence but not being able to think of anything to say, she chose instead to take the time to examine Tobirama in the dim light. His hair reminded her of snow and his red eyes made her breath stop momentarily. He was older than her, maybe around Izuna’s age. She couldn’t get a good look at his body through his armor but her gut said he was more built than her brothers. Most Uchiha were slim and fit; Tobirama had more defined muscles. Naomi found herself staring at the Senju and couldn’t deny that she didn’t mind staring at him in the least. He was attractive and even as the thought went through her head Naomi knew what her brothers and family would say if they knew. The Senju were enemies to the Uchiha. There was no way her attraction to the Senju could ever be expressed. 

“Naomi-san?” Tobirama asked after a few minutes her the Uchiha staring at hi. He knew the look in her eye, many Senju women had given him the same one when he had become of age. He wondered if their captors had actually slipped something into their food. He had found her incredibly attractive, and was unable to keep from getting aroused at the mere sight of her yesterday. Now she looked to be suffering the same thing. He didn’t miss the shiver that ran through her body when he spoke. He wondered if his voice made her feel the same as hers made him. 

“Tobirama-kun?” Naomi questioned back, trying to ignore that he caught her staring. She tried not to blush as her obsidian eyes met with his ruby eyes. His voice was smooth as silk and the way her name fell from his lips sent a shiver through her. Tobirama must have thought she was cold again because he pulled her against him again. He finished his cup of water off, making sure she drank hers, before shifting over again so they were both comfortable. His armor was hard but his touch sent a burning desire through her skin. Her body felt strange, like it was hot and needy in a way she had ever experienced before. She bit her lip as she laid her head on Tobirama’s chest plate. Surprisingly the material wasn’t cold like she had expected. Tobirama’s arms around her brought a whole new feeling to her; she had always been touchy-feely person, constantly wanting her brothers’ attention and craving physical contact from them – especially after they returned from a battle, but Tobirama’s touch was different. His arms made her feel safe, wanted, and desired. She never wanted to let him go. She knew she would have to, an Uchiha couldn’t love a Senju let alone desire him, but as long as she was here with him she was going to make the most of it. Her head shift up so she could see his face. His eyes were closed and his face seemed peaceful. His lips were pulled into a small frown though, and Naomi had a strong urge to kiss them. She did her best to resist that urge, not wanting to upset the older teen. He was her only hope to get out of wherever they were in and she didn’t want to be stuck in a room with someone who was mad at her. As she turned her gaze further up, in an attempt to keep from kissing the older teen, she noticed cracks in the ceiling. Cracks that were letting in daylight. 

“Tobirama-kun” Naomi called out quietly as she looked up at the small streams of light that came in. Tobirama opened his eyes and looked down at her. When he realized that she was looking at something in specific he let his eyes follow her gaze. As soon as he realized what she was looking at he grew excited; his excitement didn’t show though. He let a smile grace his lips as he let her go so he could stand up. They both stood up and Tobirama tried to push against the ceiling. It gave way slightly, making a small hole, but the hole was immediately patched. Naomi sighed and sat back down. That could have been their way out. Seeing the depressed look on her face, Tobirama knelt down next to Naomi. 

“Hey, look at me” he said pushing her chin up gently with his thumb and forefinger. Naomi lost her breath when she saw his eyes again, and upon seeing the sad look on Naomi’s face so close Tobirama’s heart clenched. Such a beautiful face shouldn’t look so sad. He found that he wanted to see her smile again. “We will get out of here and I will reunite you with your family.”

At his words, Naomi teared up slightly. She threw her arms around him in a clingy hug. The action took Tobirama by surprise, not many people other than his brother touched him so freely, but he wrapped his arms around her in return. Naomi cried into Tobirama’s chest, well chest plate, thankful that he had actually wanted to help her. Tobirama let her cry and simply held her. He assumed that she missed her family; he missed his too. He missed dealing with his idiotic brother, missed listening to his dreams, planning out the village together, and training together. He missed helping his brother with his Mokuton and his brother helping Tobirama with his Suiton. While he did not like how his father led the clan and his belief in absolute hatred of the Uchiha clan, Tobirama missed his conversations with the older man. 

Naomi thought of her parents and her brothers. Madara was probably pacing if he was not out looking for her. Izuna was likely watching Madara pace, with a cup of tea in hand. Kaa-san was most likely sitting in the garden, the one the two of them worked on together, worrying. Tou-san was probably training and sending every capable ninja they had looking for her but a part of her, a very small part, wondered if Tou-san would even care that she was gone. Would he even look for her? Would he let her brothers look? Tou-san used to comment that an Uchiha not able to fight or defend themselves was useless to the clan. Did that mean her too? She wanted to be a ninja, so she could be useful and protect her family, but Tou-san always said no. Did that mean that he did not think she was useful? Naomi couldn’t answer that. 

Tobirama felt Naomi tighten her grip slightly, and her tears increased. He wondered if he had somehow upset her. No, if he had upset her she wouldn’t be clinging onto him like she was. It was something else. It had to be. Tobirama held her tighter and let her cry. He did not have much experience around women but he hoped this would be enough. 

“Naomi-san?” Tobirama asked after she seemed to calm down a bit. She pulled away a bit and wiped her eyes without looking at him.

“I’m sorry” she replied simply. She had let her fears get the better of her, and Tobirama had witnessed it all. She was surprised, however, when Tobirama wiped her tears away with his thumbs. He smiled down at her, a real and sincere smile, as he did so. 

“There is no need to be sorry Naomi-san. We are in an unfortunate situation. I’m sure you miss your family and I miss mine as well.” Tobirama spoke gently. He did not want to upset her again. She gave him a watery smile in return. 

“Thank you, Tobirama-san. You’ve been nothing but kind to me.” Tobirama was surprised by that. He was only trying to survive. He didn’t want to return home knowing he left someone, an innocent nonetheless, to die. His own morals wouldn’t allow it, even if it was an Uchiha. “I know that you could have just left me here. Or leave me to my own devices but you have not.” 

“I’m not going to let you die here. I know that you probably hate the Senju but I’m not going to abandon you because of it. I can’t say I’ve ever liked the Uchiha clan but that doesn’t mean that you deserve to die down here like this” Tobirama stated as he moved his hands down to her shoulders. Naomi looked away from him as she let it sink in. 

“I don’t hate the Senju. You are the first Senju I have met and if your clan is anything like you then it can’t be as terrible as my father says,” Naomi replied. She thought back to every time her father or brothers had stated how cruel and terrible the Senju clan was. At one point she herself had hated the enemy clan. The war with them made her lose three of her brothers; but the Senju had lost just as many members as the Uchiha. 

“I thought all Uchihas hated my clan” Tobirama commented feeling uncomfortable at where the conversation was headed and criticized himself for opening it; but he was curious about her response. He had lost both of his younger brothers to the Uchiha let alone countless cousins. Naomi seemed to have lost family as well. So why didn’t she hate the Senju as much as Tobirama himself hated the Uchiha?

“Most do, but not all of us. There are some of us that can, and do, look past the pain that we have suffered at the hands of the Senju in hopes of peace. Three of my brothers didn’t, or don’t, hate the Senju. Well Madara can be hard to read but most of the time I don’t think he hates your clan. Sometimes he speaks of ending the war with the Senju and how much he missed his childhood friend from the Senju clan. Other times he complains about your clan and how many of our members your clan has killed; but my brothers Yuu and Hiraku never once said a bad thing about the Senju. Yuu believed that if the war didn’t exist, the Uchiha and Senju clans could have been allies and friends. The last thing he said to me before he died was that blind hatred only led to more blind hatred. As a ninja the only thing that mattered was to follow your leader’s orders, even if it meant going against your own morals. It was a belief that Hiraku took to heart. He went into battle prepared to do what was necessary for his clan but he hated fighting your clan. Even on the day he died he told me not to hate your clan for doing what was necessary. His dream was to see peace between our clans and he wanted our three brothers to shoot for it. He tried to instill that dream and belief in our youngest brother Souta; but Souta fell in battle with hatred in his heart.” Naomi remembered her three fallen brothers. She realized that Tobirama was probably not interested in her dead brothers. “But you don’t care about my family’s beliefs.”

“It is refreshing to hear that not all Uchiha hate my clan. I can’t say that there are many Senju who don’t completely hate the Uchiha but each of us are sick of this war. We fight because we have to and many of us have lost important people to us. I am sorry for your loss, I know the pain of losing a loved one. The Uchiha took my two youngest brothers from me” Tobirama said, not looking at Naomi. Both of them had lost family that was important to them because of the other’s clan; but both were willing to fight for peace. 

“Losing family is never easy.” Naomi sat against one of the walls and buried her head in her knees. She missed her family. Tobirama sat next to her and pulled her into a hug. He may not be used to so much physical contact but she seemed to need it. She leaned into his touch. She hoped and prayed that her family was looking for her. She wondered if Tobirama’s family was looking for him. Did their families assume they were dead or did they think there was a chance they could still be alive? Tobirama said he wouldn’t let her die down here; Naomi wasn’t sure if he could really get them both out of here, but she was going to put her faith in him. “Do you want peace?” 

“Peace had always been my brother’s dream. Hashirama met Madara at the river when he was young and the meetings just encouraged his dream even more. But peace is a nice dream. I would like to see it come to fruition.” Tobirama explained, missing the smile that graced Naomi’s lips. Her brothers had never told her the name of the Senju boy Madara had befriended, but Tobirama did. She hoped that the Senju and Uchiha could bring peace. For her brother’s sake. 

The two fell into a comfortable silence. Neither of them had anything to say and there was no need to say anything further. Naomi, instead, chose to look around the room they were in. it got her mind off of Tobirama and off of her family. Her body was still reacting strangely to Tobirama’s and she wanted it to stop. Tobirama himself was looking around the room trying to find any other ways to escape. Other than the cracks in the ceiling there didn’t seem to be any other way, except for the door. Without a way to know what was on the other side, Tobirama didn’t want to risk it. Not when he wasn’t alone. He promised Naomi that he would get her out and that was his plan. Tobirama was by no means a fan of the Uchiha, especially Madara or Izuna, but he wasn’t heartless. 

 

Madara, Izuna, Tajima and a group of about thirty Uchiha clan members met up with Hashirama, Butsuma, and a group of Senju clan members that looked about equal to the Uchiha. Izuna recognized a few of the Senju members as people he fought before, most specifically the tall brunette kunoichi that stood next to Hashirama. Izuna had faced her a few times and she was quite a good fighter but for the life of him Izuna could not remember her name. The two clans were meeting at the point where the trail ended for both Naomi and Tobirama. The two clan leaders devised a plan to search the surrounding area for the two missing children. Most of the Uchiha knew what Tobirama looked like, having fought him or seen him fight before, but none of the Senju knew what Naomi looked like since she had never left the Uchiha compound. So it was up to Madara to explain what she looked like and what she had been wearing when she was taken.


	4. Chapter 4

Hashirama and Madara were in charge of a scout group equally consisted of both Senju and Uchiha clan members. Butsuma and Tajima were in charge of another, while Izuna and Tōka were in charge of a third. Hashirama and Madara’s group was to go west, the clan leaders were to go east, and Izuna and Tōka’s group was to go north. Before splitting, the two clan heads took the time to speak to the groups as a whole. 

“Uchiha clan listen to me closely. We are going out there to search for my precious daughter Naomi, but we are also going out there to look for Senju Tobirama. If you see any signs of either of them immediately tell your group leader. Work with the Senju as if they are part of our clan, for the sake of Naomi at the least.” Tajima spoke sternly and confidently, but the Uchiha could see just how worried he was. They were too, Naomi was their princess; she had taken care of each other them after battles and was always smiling. Regardless, each Uchiha nodded their agreement, though many were cautious. 

“That goes for all Senju as well. We are looking for Uchiha Naomi as well as my youngest son Tobirama. It is likely that they are together. However, be prepared in case they are not together. Your Uchiha leader can describe Naomi-san to you if you missed the earlier explanation.” Butsuma explained to his own clan. After getting a nod in understanding the three groups departed. 

Butsuma and Tajima led their group east of where the trail had gone cold. Not even a full kilometer in, a Senju woman had found a scrap of dark blue cloth hanging from a branch, and it was bloody. Tajima recognized it as one of Naomi’s clothes, the yukata she often wore when it was hot or she was doing a lot around the house. It was also the one she had been wearing when she was taken, according to Madara. Butsuma sent a messenger to each of the other groups to tell them their discovery while they went on. 

Izuna and Tōka had gone north but they did not find anything for two whole kilometers. When they did fine something, Tōka almost went on a rampage then and there. She was not happy when an Uchiha showed her the pile of weapons that had been carelessly tossed away, Tobirama’s favorite weapons to be exact. It made her wonder; they had received a message about Butsuma and Tajima’s group finding a piece of Naomi’s clothing. Did that mean they were separated? Or were their captors trying to throw them off? Just as Tōka was going to send a Senju to relay the information, an Uchiha from Madara and Hashirama’s group arrived. 

“Taku what is it?” Izuna asked when he saw the man. The new comer took a moment to catch his breath before replying. 

“Madara-sama and Hashirama-sama found evidence of both Tobirama-san and Naomi-sama. Tobirama-san’s face plate and Naomi-sama’s necklace were found on opposite sides of a small trail. Hashirama-sama and Madara-sama are continuing on ahead” the dark haired man replied quickly. Izuna’s face hardened and Tōka looked surprised; Tobirama’s weapons and now his face plate? And so close to something that belonged to Naomi?

“Tell Hashirama-san that we found Tobirama-san’s weapons. We will continue on for another three kilometers” Tōka commanded, collecting Tobirama’s weapons carefully. The Uchiha messenger left and Tōka sent a messenger to relay the information to Butsuma and Tajima. The group continued on until they hit their five kilometer limit. Finding nothing more, they turned around and ran back to the meeting point. 

Hashirama and Madara had continued to scout their area after finding Tobirama’s face plate and Naomi’s necklace. Madara was holding onto the necklace in his hand tightly. It had been taken off by force, the chain was broken and there was blood on it. The Uchiha fan was dirty and bloody and it made Madara wonder if Naomi was alive still. Hashirama had insisted that his brother would not let her die if she was with him. That was what fueled him to continue on. 

“Stop!” Hashirama called quietly, knocking Madara out of his thoughts and causing everyone to stop. With his Sharingan Madara could see a few chakra signatures move near them. The entire group hid and masked their chakra. Two men, shinobi from a clan that Madara could not identify, walked down the small path that the group had been o  
“Man it’ll be too easy to fool those idiots. Leaving stuff behind to throw them off was a genius idea” one of the men laughed as he slowly walked with the other. His long blond hair swayed as he threw his head back. His partner, a smaller man with green hair, just stared at the blond. 

“So long as it works long enough for the Boss’s plans to take place. Once those two cooperate and do what the Boss wants we can leave this damn country” he said in a bored voice. The words made Madara’s blood boil. There was no way he was going to let them take his sister away. 

“How is the Boss planning on forcing them to go with him? His plan is to get the Uchiha girl pregnant isn’t it? With the Senju’s baby?” The first asked as they stopped to take a break. The other sighed. 

“Moshi how many times do I have to tell you to listen carefully? Yes he wants the Uchiha girl pregnant with the Senju’s kid. Once a pregnancy is confirmed the Boss will kill the Senju and take the Uchiha with us. They’re too weak to fight back without their chakra. We just have to break them down a bit,” the first said confidently before continuing on the way they were heading. It took all Madara had not to kill the two enemies on sight. Instead, Hashirama sent half of their group to report to the other two groups while the rest continued on. After they departed, the small group tree jumped until they came to a large mound of earth. There were many more ninja guarding the building that was off to the side, as the mound was unguarded but the ninja were close enough to stop anything from happening. So they watched until they were supposed to leave to meet up with the other groups. 

“I’ll stay, you go explain what happened” Madara offered as Hashirama brought up the meeting. Said brunet nodded and assigned two Senju to stay with him. Madara kept an Uchiha behind and the four continued to watch the area. After a few more minutes something felt wrong. The two shinobi from before returned and after a few words were exchanged the entire force left. Madara stayed in place just in case the shinobi returned but it seemed they had abandoned it. Was it another decoy? Madara did not know. He waited with the three who had stayed behind. After half an hour, the rest of the group along with the other two groups arrived. 

“It seems like it was another decoy. They left about half an hour ago and no one has returned” Madara explained as Butsuma and Tajima landed beside him. 

“Has anyone come out of the house?” Butsuma asked examining the area. Madara shook his head. He had hoped that someone would. Or that there would be some sort of sign of either Tobirama or Naomi. The shinobis’ conversation earlier had put him on edge. Naomi was only thirteen, and while she could carry a child she was not old enough to actually take care of it. If she were forced to carry a child she did not want he was not sure how her mentality would hold up. Madara knew that she wanted kids one day, if they could end this war before she was too old to have children. Would she love the child if it was forced upon her? Madara had to shake the thoughts away. His sister would not get pregnant, not if he could stop it. He knew that Tobirama was not the type to take a woman by force though. Madara could only hope he held onto his morals. 

Hashirama was also concerned with the conversation he had heard earlier. If they did not hurry bad things were going to happen. He had faith that his brother would not break so easily, but what of Naomi? Madara had said she only had the training of a ninja, not the battle experience. Would she be able to withstand whatever these people had planned for her? He had to believe that his brother was not going to let her get hurt. He had assured Madara and Izuna that Tobirama would take care of her. They had to find them before their captors lost their patience. 

“Something’s not right here” one of the Senju trackers said from near the back of the group. Everyone turned to look at him as he narrowed his eyes in concentration. He was staring at the mound intensely, like he was trying to see through it. Before anyone could ask him why, an Uchiha gasped in shock. 

“Someone was in there. Or is in there? It’s hard to tell. I can sense two chakra signatures but they’re faint and obscured. As if they aren’t really there” the Uchiha explained quickly, quite used to the temper of the clan leader and his sons. Especially when it came to the safety of Naomi. 

“Or they’re further away than this mound. It could be a tunnel” the Senju added finally looking up at the two clan leaders. Tajima’s eyes were narrowed and he let out a low growl. It was a growl that put everyone except for Butsuma, Madara, and Izuna on edge. Those three were used to hearing the Uchiha leader growl. Hashirama, having never actually heard such a menacing growl come from a human being, paled as he wondered how close to losing his temper he was.

“Is there any way to follow it?” Butsuma asked, ignoring his rival’s growl. The Senju sensor snapped his attention to the clan leader and shook his head. The Uchiha sensor bit his lip in thought. 

“The likelihood is that they made the tunnel as a trap. I can barely feel chakra in there but if we go in and investigate we could run into multiple traps.” The Uchiha stated. The Senju nodded his agreement.

“And even if there is a tunnel and somewhere in it are Tobirama-sama and Naomi-san we would not be able to tell. Who knows where this tunnel leads or how long it is.” The Senju sensor chipped in. 

“So how do we find them?” another Senju asked cautiously. Madara and Izuna looked at their father, wondering what was going through his mind. 

“Can you sense the ninja that were here?” Butsuma asked before Tajima had a chance. Both sensors nodded. Their chakra was still hanging in the air, they must have been there for a while before leaving. 

“Let’s send a small group after them, consisting of the best trackers from both clans and the best spies. All we need to do is spy. We don’t want to let them know we’re onto them yet. Not until we can determine the location of Naomi and Tobirama.” Butsuma suggested, to which Tajima nodded his agreement. It was their best course of action at that moment. 

“Izuna, Hedeaki, Daiki, and Koharu will be the ones from the Uchiha clan. Everyone else go home and rest.” Tajima ordered, standing up. All of the Uchiha except for the four that Tajima called out, Madara, and Tajima himself left. Hedeaki, the sensor who had backed up the Senju one, stood maybe an inch taller than Izuna was and was about the same age. Daiki was only a teenager, standing about two inches shorter than Izuna. Koharu, the only female chosen for the mission, was the oldest of the group and was the same height as Izuna was. 

“Kiyoshi, Ryota, Kenshin, and Michi will be the ones to accompany them. Izuna-san will be your leader so listen to him.” Butsuma announced before dismissing the rest of the Senju clan. Hashirama stayed behind, waiting to return home with his father. He was putting his brother’s life in Izuna’s hands, and he had no choice but to trust him. Izuna may have been Tobirama’s rival, but Hashirama was hoping that would help him if he found them. 

 

Tobirama was growing tired of being in the dark room with nothing to do. He could talk to Naomi, but there was only so much they could talk about without giving away clan secrets. He had half a mind to try to escape through the door. It would probably end in failure and at least one of them would get seriously injured, if not killed. He would not risk Naomi’s life like that. 

But he was bored. He could not train because he had no weapons or chakra. He did not even know what to say if he were to start a conversation with Naomi. He needed to figure out how to get them out of here. Before Naomi froze to death. It seemed they were letting the room get colder the longer they were in the room. Even now, Naomi was curled into him shivering. He was starting to feel the cold prick at his skin. 

The door opened and the same woman who had been bringing their food walked in with another tray of food. She set it down in front of them, not even looking at them and left. Naomi was half asleep on Tobirama’s chest. Gently he shook her awake. “We need to eat.”

“Not hungry…” she mumbled sleepily. Gently he brushed a strand of hair out of her face. That is when he noticed how warm her forehead was. In fact she was burning up with a fever. He repressed a sigh as he ripped a piece of his shirt off and picked up one of the glasses of water. He would have to try to cool her down with the limited water source he had. Naomi getting sick made it that much harder for them to escape. 

“Sleep for now Naomi. When you wake again you will have to eat.” He told her softly, gently running a hand through her hair to lull her to sleep. Tobirama did not know if it was going to work or not, but he knew it had worked on his brother whenever he was not feeling so great. He felt her body relax against his causing Tobirama to let out a sigh of relief and lean his head back against the wall. He was hoping with everything he had that after getting some sleep Naomi’s fever would go down and he could focus on getting them out of there, the sooner the better. For the time being, all he could do was focus on helping her get better; and keep her from getting worse if he possibly could. 

This was more stress than he needed and he had other things he needed to worry about. Like the war between The Senju and the Uchiha clans, or the Hagoromo clan attacking his clan, or his brother’s training to become clan leader. He had jutsu to practice and master, fights to prepare for, and countless other things that needed his attention. Instead he was sitting in a dark cell underground babysitting a sick Uchiha civilian. 

As Naomi curled into him more, Tobirama felt bad about thinking such things. Being a shinobi he had a duty to protect those who were weaker than him or unable to fight. Even if she wasn’t of his clan or a client, Naomi was a civilian as far as he knew and she needed his help to survive. He could only hope that he would find a way out of there so he could return Naomi to her brothers and go home to his own. 

Looking up he saw the small sliver of light again, though it was much duller than the previous one which indicated that it came from the moon. In a matter of seconds it was covered up then uncovered…as if someone was walking on it. He could not be sure if they were friend or foe but he could hear faint voices. Moving Naomi so she was laying on the ground, Tobirama stood up and tried to hear the voices better.

Was that…was that Izuna? Who was with him? It sounded like it could be Kiyoshi…yes that was exactly who was talking back to his annoying rival. Cheering silently, Tobirama tried to break the ceiling more so that he could shout up to his hopeful rescuers.


	5. Chapter 5

Izuna sighed, trying to ignore the Senju’s complaints about having to follow his orders; as if the Uchiha had not commanded rescue missions before. This one was no different than the others, regardless of how personal it was. In fact, his sister being one of the victims made him want to finish this efficiently and safely. He was sick of hearing about how terrible of a leader he was being, simply because he was being cautious. A remark was brewing in his mind but before it could come out, Michi butted in. 

“Ne, Uchiha-sama look.” She pointed down to the ground at Izuna’s feet with a confused expression. Izuna looked down and frowned when he saw something poking out of the ground. Not only that but it was moving, as if it was trying to break the ground. After a moment of looking at it, Izuna kneeled down and started prying at the small hole that had been made. As the hole grew larger, the Uchiha’s eyes widened. Turning his head to the rest of the group, Izuna pulled out a kunai. 

“One of you send a message to both clans. Tobirama’s down there.” He commanded before turning back to the hole, which had closed up, and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. With the kunai he started making another hole, and members of both clans started helping him. Once the hole was big enough for them to peer down, Izuna let out a small sigh of relief when he saw his sister lying on the ground. 

“Tobirama-sama! Are you alright?” Michi asked when she saw him, a small smile on her face. The white haired Senju frowned before looking down at Naomi. He looked back up at the group, who were struggling to keep the hole open, with an unreadable expression. 

“She’s got a fever and I don’t know how to get us out of here.” Tobirama shouted up, his mind trying to think of a way to get them both out of the cave. Before he could figure it out, the door slammed open. His head turned towards the door, and he saw the man who had spoken to them earlier standing in the doorway. There was a group of men behind him, all of them armed and looked ready for a battle. He was at a serious disadvantage. Not only did he not have his chakra, he did not even have a weapon to defend himself with. He also had to take care of Naomi who was sick and could not move out of the way. 

Izuna cursed when he saw the hole closing. Not only that, but it seemed that Tobirama had trouble in the cell beneath them. He had been so happy to hear that his sister was with the Senju, and worried about the fever that she had, that he did not even consider the idea that someone would realize they were there. However, at the moment he had to push his feelings away and come up with a plan to get them out of this situation. 

“If I remember correctly, Kenshin-san, you’re an earth user correct?” He waited for the confirming nod from the brown haired Senju before continuing. “I want you and Koharu to figure out a way to keep this hole open. Any long range fighters I want to provide whatever back up you can to Tobirama from here. Hedeaki, you’re going to come with me. I also need someone to send both clans a message with our location telling them that we found Naomi and Tobirama. Are any of you short range fighters?”

He turned his attention to the three remaining Senju, which only Michi nodded her head, before motioning for her to follow him and Hedeaki. He lead them away from the hole, towards a pile of rocks that he was certain was hiding the entrance to the underground prison. Unlike the area that they had started off in, where Hashirama and Madara had originally found the tunnel, there were not any structures that could have disguised the entrance. 

“We need to be as quiet and careful as we can. We have no idea what is going on down there or how many enemies we will run into. Stay vigilant and try to stay together.” He told the two of them as he found what he was looking for. By moving one of the rocks he was able to uncover the entrance to the tunnel. Once he got confirming nods from both of them Izuna slowly started making his way down into the tunnel. He was followed closely by Hedeaki and Michi. 

The tunnel was much bigger than any of them thought; not only did they have enough room to walk comfortably, the walls were lit by torches and there were not very many doors or tunnels as they walked. Finally after walking down the long stone tunnel, they came to a larger room which split off into various other tunnels. While he could not tell anything about the other tunnels, Izuna could see that the room itself was empty. 

Slowly they inched forward, being cautious with each step they took so they did not set off any traps or alert their enemies of their presence. As they got closer to one of the tunnels, Izuna could see shadows moving, from the torches lit down there. They would need a strategy if they were going to provide back up for Tobirama and save his sister. 

 

Tobirama stood defensively in front of Naomi’s sleeping form. Though his face remained stone cold and void of emotion, inside he was deeply worried about the situation he found himself in. He was about to face an enemy with no weapon and his chakra sealed away. This was more than just another challenge for him; this was life or death, and not just for him. If he failed in this fight, Naomi’s death would be on him and he would have broken his promise to reunite her with her brothers. He did not want to admit how happy he was to see Izuna, the Uchiha with him, and the Senju looking down from the hole in the ceiling. Freedom was so close that he could almost taste it but that hope was squashed as the man walked into their cell, sword at the ready for an attack against the captive Senju. Maybe, just maybe if Izuna could figure out how to get to them they would stand a chance of surviving this battle. 

“Well, well what do we have here?” The man taunted as he took a step closer to Tobirama and Naomi. The latter had not even stirred yet and it was beginning to worry the Senju. “It seems our attempts to doing things subtly didn’t work with you two. I guess we’ll have to try a different method.” 

The words confused Tobirama. He was not aware of what they were trying to pull with him and the Uchiha girl so he really did not know how to react to the comment. Still, he stood his ground and prepared to fight them off if he needed to. He may not have a weapon or his chakra, but he was still good at taijutsu. That would have to be enough to get out of this fight; or at least it would have to suffice until he could either get one of their weapons into his hands or Izuna arrived to help him. Never in his life had he expected to have to rely on his Uchiha rival, yet in that instance he hoped Izuna would have an idea of what to do.  
“I don’t know what you thought we were going to do but it’s not going to happen.” Tobirama finally replied defiantly. Resisting the urge to look up at the hole to see if it had closed yet, he kept his crimson eyes locked on the vile man in front of him. He raised his fists in preparation for the oncoming fight and slouched into a defensive stance. 

The man simply laughed, a deep and hearty laugh, at the Senju’s actions. This took Tobirama by surprise yet he did not let his stance relax. Hashirama had always told him he was paranoid about the intentions of others, and in that moment he was thankful that he was really that paranoid. It meant that if the other man attacked he had a fighting chance of defending himself. 

Tobirama did not want to wake Naomi up, but the ensuing battle probably would anyways. If he could keep her unaware of their situation for as long as he could it would help him protect her in the long run. At this moment in time she was useless to him, especially if she was not a kunoichi as he suspected. It would be up to his taijutsu skills to save them both. All he could hope was that Izuna’s group found him eventually they would be his saving grace. 

Maybe if he could disarm one of his opponents and steal his weapon he would be able to decently protect the sleeping girl behind him. That was his main priority, to protect the innocent from harm. He promised Naomi that he would keep her safe and he would do exactly that. 

The ensuing battle was just as brutal as Tobirama expected it to be. He had already taken a hard punch to his right cheek and mouth, and a sharp kick to his ribs. Not to mention the numerous cuts and bruises littering his body; his armor did little to help him in this fight. It had been years since he had been in such a position that he would actually want help from his enemy. Actually, he had never been in a position like this. He did not want to put his trust in the Uchiha. Ever. 

In that moment he hoped to see Izuna or anyone that had traveled with him to help him out of this situation, and that feeling did not sit well with him. 

Tobirama let out a groan of pain when one of his attackers sliced into his side with a sword. He was quickly becoming over powered by the men in the room; the situation was rapidly getting worse. Hope was draining from him when one of them slipped past his meek defense. A shrill scream rand out from behind him and his heart stopped beating for a split second as fear took control of him. Time seemed to slow down for the Senju as he saw the man run towards Naomi, his sword raised to strike her. 

The Senju willed his body to move, to block the attack or take it for her, anything he could do to keep her safe. However, before he could make a move a kunai flew through the air and embedded itself in the man’s throat. Blood sprayed everywhere. The man tried breathing but only gurgled on the blood in his throat. Tobirama saw Naomi’s blood streaked face as the man fell to his knees, and then flat on the floor, and his eyes widened. It barely took a minute for him to stop moving as he laid on the ground dead. Tobirama’s gaze turned to the other side to the room where the kunai had come from. He saw a flash of blood red and immediately averted his gaze instinctively. 

 

Izuna had finally found the room that Tobirama and Naomi had been kept in. He did not stop to analyze the situation like he had been trained to do; the second he saw the man go for his sister he grabbed a kunai from his pouch and threw it at his target. He smirked when he saw the kunai go straight into the man’s throat, his Sharingan spinning wildly. The smirk dropped when he saw the horror stricken look on his dear bloody sister’s face. With a growl he unsheathed his sword. 

The Uchiha was angry; he lashed out at the first person he saw, some out of shape blond man that was idly standing near him. The man fell to the ground, his chest sliced open from the strike of Izuna’s sword. Still the bloodshed did not quench his anger. He raised his sword and began to cut through the remaining men who stood between him and his sister. 

 

Naomi could not move her body. No matter how hard she tried she could not will her feet to move. She could not close her eyes or even move them off the horrible scene in front of her. Tobirama was only a few paces a head of her, on his knees and clutching his wounded side in pain, and Izuna was quickly making his way to her. She had been trained for such an event, trained to fight and to protect herself in case something ever happened to her, but she was not prepared for this. The sight of blood did not affect her quite like seeing her brother, the very brother who had sworn to protect her with his life, tearing people down with his blade so viciously did. It scared her. No, it down right terrified her. 

In her eyes, Izuna was not the type of person to mindlessly slaughter people; but then this was the first time she had seen him in a real battle. This was exactly what her father had wanted to protect her against and they had all defied his orders. Naomi could not decide if that had been the right call or not but it was too late. She had seen the worst in Izuna and in that moment she was not sure if she was ever going to forget what she had seen. 

Tobirama pulled Naomi from her thoughts when he pulled her away from the bodies and closer to the wall nearest to them. She numbly followed him, finally tearing her eyes away from the scene and to the Senju’s pale face. He was paler than normal and obviously in pain. She found herself shivering against him though her entire body felt like it was on fire. As she tried to focus on anything but the sounds of the battle behind her she felt the room spin. She was not aware of the arms that caught her as she fell to the ground or the horrified scream of her name from both Tobirama and Izuna. By the time she started to fall her fever had spiked and she lost consciousness. 

 

Izuna had taken every one in the room down, leaving himself along with Tobirama and Naomi standing. That relative peace did not last long as Izuna had hoped; he had thought that if he could defeated their common enemies he and Tobirama could get his sister out and they would go their separate ways. He was wrong. Just as he turned to speak to the two he saw Naomi pass out. Tobirama caught her as they both shouted her name. The amount of pain the Senju was in was evident on his face as he cradled Naomi to his chest. Her nightgown was stained with his blood, and for a moment he felt concern for his rival but his overall concern was for Naomi. She was shivering harshly even though it was not that cold in the room. 

“Izuna-sama!” Koharu called from above them. Izuna looked up to see that the hole was opened again, and much larger than it was before, and nodded at his clansman and the Senju who opened it. 

“Figure out a way to get these two out of here. I need to go find Hedeaki and Michi.” Izuna ordered and, once getting the nod of acknowledgment from the other Uchiha, turned and ran out of the room. He had left the two to guard the hallway just in case someone came that way while he looked for Tobirama and Naomi. Once he found them a few steps from where he had left them he guided them back to the room where only Tobirama remained. The two earth users had created a staircase that lead to the top of the hole; Kiyoshi and Ryota were helping Tobirama up the stairs carefully. Michi ran up behind the trio and provided support for Tobirama as he walked up the shaking stairs. Hedeaki and Izuna waited until the four were at the top before running up them. 

When they exited the room from the hole, Koharu and Kenshin closed it. On the surface was more dead bodies and from the break in the tree line Izuna could see members of both clans approaching them. Daiki was holding Naomi as Michi tended to Tobirama’s injury. It was tense as the group waited for the two clans to approach them. It barely took five minutes for the two clan leaders to stop in front of them but to Izuna it felt like it had been hours. He was nervous and worried. Nervous because Tobirama had been hurt and he wouldn’t put it past Butsuma to end the truce for such a reason even if it was not Izuna’s fault; worried because his sister was looking worse by the minute. He feared that he had been too late and he was about to lose his precious sister regardless of their attempts. He had already lost three brothers and while he had been upset by their loss he was even more afraid to lose Naomi. She was his only sister. 

 

Hashirama, despite Butsuma’s orders to remain behind him, ran ahead when he saw his brother being treated by Michi. Though he was not the best when it came to medical ninjutsu he still wanted to help his brother feel better. His eyes glanced briefly to the dark haired girl that was resting in the arms of one of the Uchiha. He was sure that when she did not look so sick she was a sight to see. Even then as she laid unconscious, dark circles under her eyes and blood stained clothes, she looked refined. She looked like an innocent angel to him; the thought made him smile. 

Butsuma said nothing as he stopped in front of the group. He merely looked down at his youngest son who was trying to mask his pain. He shot a glance at the Uchiha girl and frowned. He could see why Tajima had tried to keep her existence a secret from outside clans. She was beautiful and would make the perfect wife for the lucky man who got to have her hand in marriage. 

Tajima kneeled down next to his daughter, Madara and Izuna following suit, and took her out of Daiki’s arms. Everyone who was around the small family could see how worried Tajima and his two sons were for Naomi. The girl clutched her father’s shirt as tightly as she could manage and pressed her face into the man’s chest. 

Though there was no spoken agreement, Butsuma knew that it would be better to leave the Uchiha alone for the moment. Tajima was not the type of man to show weakness and he had instilled that in the two sons who had survived their childhood but even the Senju leader could see that he was about to crack. He had his own wounded child to take care of anyways. With a short command Hashirama and Kenshin helped Tobirama to his feet and the Senju clan were on their way. Butsuma did not follow right away. Instead he turned to face Tajima, a frown settled deep on his lips. 

“Thank you for your help in finding my son. I hope your daughter recovers Tajima.” With that he was on his way, leaving the Uchiha clan behind him.


End file.
